Norma Christie Graham

Norma Christie Graham, 86, passed away peacefully on Jan. 6, 2015, at her daughter Lisa's home in Sun Valley, Calif. Norma grew up in Nettleton, Miss., and completed her education at the University of Alabama. She married munitions expert Sidney A. Graham and embarked on a 33 year-long adventure with him.
Norma is much-beloved by the generations of students she taught during her career as a public school teacher, which culminated with her over 20-year tenure at Destin Elementary School. She was especially highly regarded for imparting virtues of mercy, dependability, and self-reliance to those in her classroom. She changed many lives by modeling that behavior to her students and family as well as the members of her beloved church home, Fort Walton Beach First United Methodist Church, where she was active in the Emmaus Community, Administrative Council, and religious education program.
Norma's passion for ballroom dancing, culture, history, and politics led her to many adventures, from winning dance competitions to excursions across the U.S. and beyond to Germany, Ireland, and Turkey. Her love of her community, her students, and her family brought untold blessings of grace and mercy to the great collective she invested her life in. She was preceded in death by her spouse, Sidney A. Graham; her daughter, Joyce Kuhn; and her son, Sidney Y. Graham; and is survived by her daughter, Lisa Hoffort; her granddaughter, Jessica Kuhn; and her grandsons, Cole and Caleb Graham. Norma will be laid to rest in Beal Memorial Cemetery beside her beloved husband after a service of death and resurrection at First United Methodist Church, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Jan. 19, 2015, at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Panhandle Humane Society, 752 Lovejoy Road Northwest, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548.
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